Howdy all, and thanks for the huge response and cool comments about all the Valdore posts!! It is one of my favs and so glad to get all the feedback. You never know how things will be received, especially when working on Star Trek stuff. As a fan myself, it’s sometimes hard to see if what is happening on the drawing board is aesthetically right for the the show and it’s roots, and also be pleasing from an audience and Trek fans point of view!! Very nice to get all the good and bad here and always an education!!! Today is Mish Mash day only because of the heavy work schedule. So with that, here is my very first Star Trek drawing done for Trek V, and it is a detail for the Bird of Prey wing cannon that was being built by Mike Joyce. I was working in Greg Jein’s model shop at the time, and in a way Greg gave me my first art job. HAAA! Thanks Mr. Jein! Next are two more pics from the scorpion model post from earlier this week, a robot concept for an ILM/Dreamworks project called XO that didn’t make it, and a bogus Magazine cover that had it’s roots as a DS9 piece of art. OK, enjoy and have a great Friday!
BOP wing gun
the extinct XO robot
the master pieces complete set
a mish mash composite for a mish mash Friday
needed a piece for a Halloween art show so borrowed a DS9 drawing and made a mag cover out of it!
an added bonus!!! Various concepts for patches from Sea Quest
Eavesdropping with Johnny 
SCHWEEEEEEEEEET… 🙂
I had wondered, was the ” close ups ” of the Bird of Preys
wing cannons a SEPERATE model ? I mean, was there a large scale
wing tip with JUST the cannon made ? I never saw any pictures of it and
don’t remember seeing it at the big auction ?
I believe it did sell at the auction,, I’ll go look at my Christie’s catalog to be sure, But yes it was a huge model and the only thing seen was the gun and just the tip of the wing, I so wanted to take that one home!
Wow, I didn’t know you worked on Star Trek V. I guess that was when you mostly designed props?
The SeaQuest patches are really good, especially the World Bank one. Very strong looking. I only have vague memories of the show now, and can’t really think what the general plots tended to be about, but some of the design and effects work sticks in the memory.
SeaQuest?! You get around, John! Great detail on the BOP gun. The model was sold a while back through Profiles in History. Here’s some shots:
http://startrekpropcollector.com/trekauctions/img/605bd3e401d178c0c71f8e4bdae4dfbb
http://startrekpropcollector.com/trekauctions/img/6a3d4a5e861e3af3d34d6f42734ac5a9
Thanks Don and man it’s trashed!!! I’ll get some better shots of this from home for you!
Thanks to both you and Don for posting these shots. I knew this piece had not sold at Christies but I was totally unaware that Mr. Eaves was even behind this piece the whole time! This one is going into the scrap-book for sure! ~Mark~
what else did you do for seaquest?
Mostly everything but the seaquest itself, Jim Lima designed the Quest, and the little underwater pick up truck, the robotic probe thing, the sea ball and a whole host of other cool little ships, my job was for the CG VFX storyboards, a lot of the sets and interiors for the Quest and most of the bad guy and episodical subs. VERY fun show and loved working with Jim and Richard Lewis!!
Cool. I didn’t know you worked on seaQuest. I hope you publish more from that show. I’ve always admired the design work that went into the first season.
Man this brings back OLD memories. I was supposed to go down to L.A. and do a set-based article on the show, right after it debuted, but there was a short-term falling out between the mag and Amblin and they cancelled (story I heard was that the PR person kept saying, ‘what is cinefex?’ and the editor replied, ‘we wrote THE MAKING OF JURASSIC PARK for you’ and they STILL didn’t get it.)
Anyways … I spoke with Mr Lewis about the show once after sending him a letter and was thrilled to find he had actually put my letter up on the art dept wall (or so he said.) My qualified rave on the seaQuest sets (which I still think look terrific) was lessened by the fact I didn’t see any lips on the shelves, so how did the beakers not break when the ship banked. He said that was a detail he specifically included, and he didn’t know why they left the lips off, but that he had already gone onto EARTH 2.
I mentioned that I imagined them doing a shot with the dolphin trailing a bad guy down the hallways in his little glass tunnel, sort of like the shot where Robert Shaw (in the train) is a menacing unseen presence behind Connery (in the station outside) in FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE, and he said to stay tuned (they wound up using that exact kind of shot in their SILENCE OF LAMBS madmangenius guy on the sub show a few weeks later.)
I remember loving Bridger’s quarters and the color and contrasts throughout. And I actually remember one great episode too, where they find the loading area of the Alexandria Library. A very Kirk like resolution to the episode, where Scheider lays down the law to squabbling political-types. Man if the show had lived up to potential … sigh.
I would LOVE to see more of your seaQuest work along with the most excellent Trek stuff you’ve been serving up!!
I had no Idea you worked on SeaQuest. That was a great show, it a shame that they only showed it once in the UK, as I missed most of the Eps.
It was al ot of fun but I only saw a couple of episodes myself!
I like mishmash Friday. It’s a good thing. 😀
Of course, the BOP wing gun is awesome. I also had wondered if that was a separate model. That robot image is sweet. Too bad that concept got canned. And, of course, I love your Scorpion design. I almost bought that Polar Lights model kit a few years ago but I bought a classic D7 instead. I also love the mock magazine layout and the patch concepts are cool, though I’m not familiar at all with Seaquest.
AHHH glad you like mish mash Friday!! Always weird things to put up!
I was a little disappointed with seaQuest after that horrid episode (or was it a two-parter?) where they all went to some other planet with Mark Hamill or something, because up until then it was solid, quality science fiction. I wanted to see the show given more of a chance to develop, and did my twelve-year-old self ever LOVE the concept of a dolphin crew member onboard.
That’s the nice thing about coming to your blog, John– whatever it is I loved watching at some point, you’ve probably worked on it! Or you know people who did! Plus there’s beautiful women! It’s everything I love in one convenient place! 😀
When I get to SeaQuest week there are a lot of fun stories to tell. Thanks Brian, I bought the DVD set not to long ago and so want to watch em.
Thank you for always making the time to post an update no matter how busy you are – they are much appreciated!
Have a great weekend John and best regards,
Rich
Thanks and so wish I had more time to put it up right!! HAAA! Better busy than not though so not complaining!
Whenever I hum the Seaquest Theme it always turns into the Dallas theme. And yes, Seaquest S1 was da bomb.
HAAA your right Seaquest does drift into Dallas quite easily!!
Was that gun the first thing you drew as an official request for Trek? It looks like you’d been polishing that particular style of design and drawing for a while. Was there stuff you had played around with in preparing for your big shot at the art stuff?
I haven’t ever seen a SeaQuest full episode…bring your DVD’s and we’ll watch! 🙂
I was going to ask you what it was you would do differently with the mission patches that Mike Okuda has done, since you’d mentioned to me a different vision. These patches give me an idea of that vision, I think. More depth and interest. I like Mike’s a lot. Very clean and simple, with so much symbolism packed into them.
that’s just how I drew it, and the view stuck with everything to come in the future!!
Well, I bet Greg Jein was very happy when he saw the finished product!
John, the 2 images posted are really a nice contrast in skill level. The gun is still great, but it’s easy to see a huge refinement of line work and overall skill in the two images. Great work, as always.
And wow, working for Greg Jein as your first industry job! He was one of my childhood model building heroes, even before the days when Star Wars made such professions more visible. It was hard to come by info back then, but as the guy who did the Dark Star, Flesh Gordon ships and (later) the CE3K mothership, he is truly a legend. I remember being in awe that one could have such a job, and even more in awe when I had the chance to do it for my own job (way back when, anyway). Great memories!
Livin’ the Dream: The John Eaves Story
Screenplay by deg
INT. PRINCIPLE’S OFFICE LOOKING OUT TO WAITING AREA DAY
Principle and concerned 4th-grade teacher in discussion, looking out at lil’ Johnny waiting outside, seated, with spiral note-book on his lap, compulsively drawing (the same reason he was brought down to the office).
LIL’ JOHNNY EAVES’ TEACHER
Look at the boy go. He never stops. He just sits there with his pencil and paper. Drawing … well…, I don’t even know what he’s drawing actually.
LIL’ JOHNNY EAVES’ PRINCIPLE
So you’re saying, this is all he does in class?
LIL’ JOHNNY EAVES’ TEACHER
Correct. Well, almost non-stop. He does do his assignments, but he finishes quickly and then; this. (Points to lil’ Johnny in the waiting area, scribbling.)
Should we call his parents in?
LIL’ JOHNNY EAVES’ PRINCIPLE
And yet, you say he’s completing his assignments?
LIL’ JOHNNY EAVES’ TEACHER
Correct, and his grades are good… Still, what are these odd pictures he keeps drawing??? I’m very concerned…
INT. MID CLOSE-UP ON LIL” JOHNNY WAITING AREA DAY
(lil’ Johnny holds up his note-book in the direction of the window into the Principle’s office, pointing excitedly at the image on the paper)
LIL’ JOHNNY EAVES
Hey looky! Looky at my new robot! Someday I’m gonna draw robots for movies! Big movies! For the biggest and most famous directors in the world! (BIG SMILE!)
INT. PRINCIPLE’S OFFICE LOOKING OUT TO WAITING AREA DAY
LIL’ JOHNNY EAVES’ TEACHER
See, and then there’s that… he draws all the time, and I think he may also be delusional…
LIL’ JOHNNY EAVES’ PRINCIPLE
(looking out at the robot drawing that Johnny is still holding up while still smiling BIG!)
Well, either that, or he has a dream. And he is definitely enthusiastic.
(pause)
Let’s forgo the parents for now, and see how he does for a while.
LIL’ JOHNNY EAVES’ TEACHER
Alright then, but it’s your responsibility. I still feel we should inform his parents of his odd behavior.
LIL’ JOHNNY EAVES’ PRINCIPLE
Yes it is, and noted.
(thinking to himself while looking out at lil’ Johnny, who has gone back to drawing feverishly in his note-book)
Well, I hope for God’s sake (and mine) he can make something of drawing what’s he’s drawing out there some day. Whatever it is that he’s drawing. Odd kid. Nice kid, but odd. Robots for the biggest and most famous directors in the world, huh? Lord help ‘im, what kinda fantasy world is that kid living in that he believes people can make a living doing that? Time will tell I guess. After all, stranger dreams have been known to come true. Robots, huh? Go figure.
INT. MID CLOSE-UP ON LIL” JOHNNY WAITING AREA DAY
(lil’ Johnny again holds up his note-book in the direction of the window into the Principle’s office, pointing excitedly at the new image on the paper)
LIL’ JOHNNY EAVES
AND SPACE-SHIPS, TOO! For Big movies too! For the biggest and most famous directors in the world! (BIG SMILE!)
INT. PRINCIPLE’S OFFICE LOOKING OUT TO WAITING AREA DAY
LIL’ JOHNNY EAVES’ PRINCIPLE
(thinking to himself while looking out at lil’ Johnny, who has again gone back to drawing feverishly in his note-book)
And space-ships too, he says. Go figure.
END SCENE
And so it is written, and so it is done. 😀
LLP,
deg
Are you making a bid for the movie rights? I want in on that! 😀
Nice job, chimpy boy! *hands banana* It’s your turn to be rewarded. 🙂
That XO robot thing is cool! Can you provide any more info about it? At first I thought it was some type of Starfleet tool kind of like the loader in “Aliens”. Maybe it could have been something used during the NX-01 era on space stations or on the ground when they were building colonies. Or even jump it to the future and used against a squad of Jem’Hadar. The possibilities could be endless with it and I’m sorry it got dropped.
YOU NEVER CEASE TO AMAZE! MORE SEAQUEST PLEASE
Flip that Klingon gun upside down, turn the fin into a pistol grip and you’d have a heck of a perforator.
It’s alaways nice to see marker and pen comps ina world of CGI, not that CGI is bad, but always enjoy hand drawn stuff.
My God … even when you were starting out, you were great. That BoP gun is fantastic.
And I’m digging the Incredible Science Fiction illustration. I see a lot of Robbie in that, did you have any other inspiration?
Ha… John, I think that’s where we first actually met… Sea Quest…weren’t you guys in that building by the fire department?? everything is foggy now… but I remember I was brought in on Sea Quest to do some kinda map for them… for a couple days… and met you… (I had heard of you cause we both contributed to that program for the Bob Burns Tribute… ) Ah, sweet memories… how you do fade.
Anyway you package it, it’s great stuff, John! I didn’t know you had done SeaQuest stuff. Wish I could see that series again. I really enjoyed it when it was on! 🙂
The Klingon BoP gun makes me think “Cry havoc and carry a big gun!” 😀
BIG fan Mr.Eaves. Luv your work. Got any books coming out? 🙂